AQUATIC FOWLS. 



237 



constant care might have produced the desired 

 effect." 



The American wild goose is a beautiful bird. 

 The head, two-thirds of the neck, the greater 

 quills, the rump and tail, are jet black ; the back 

 and wings are brown, edged with lighter brown ; 

 the base of the neck anteriorly, and the under- 

 plumage, generally brownish-gray ; a few white 

 feathers are scattered about the eye, and a white 

 cravat, of a kidney-shape, forms a conspicuous 

 mark on the throat ; upper and under tail-cov- 

 erts pure white ; bill and feet black. The long 

 and delicate neck of this bird gives it quite a 

 snake-like appearance. 



The American wild goose is universally 

 known over the whole country, whose regular 

 periodical migrations are the sure signal of re- 

 turning spring or approaching winter. Late in 

 autumn, especially when the wind is from the 

 north, these wild geese are seen sailing high in 

 the air, making their accustomed tour at that 

 season. Impelled by nature, they quit their 

 northern abode, and hazard an escape from the 

 artifices of man sooner than perish amidst the 

 icy barrens of the frozen regions. When mi- 

 grating, many flocks unite and form a vast col- 

 umn, each band having its chosen leader. 



The flight of the wild goose is heavy and la- 

 borious, generally in a straight line, or in two 

 lines, approximating to a point, or rather in the 

 form of two sides of a triangle ; in both cases 

 the van is led by an old gander, who every now 

 and then pipes his well-known honk, honk ! as if 

 to ask how they come on, and the honk of 

 ' All's well !" is generally returned by some of the 

 party. When bewildered in foggy weather, they 

 appear sometimes to be in great distress, flying 

 about in an irregular manner, making a great 

 clamor. On these occasions, should they alight 

 on the ground, as they sometimes do, they meet 

 with speedy death and destruction. 



The hoarse honking of the gander is so fa- 

 miliar to the inhabitants of our country, that it 

 is impossible for them to arrive among us with- 

 out making their visit known. All welcome 

 their return. The once keen eye of the aged 

 gunner again sparkles as he beholds their grand 

 and lofty flight; the firelock is immediately 

 brought into requisition, and then the prac- 



ticed gunner looks upon them as debtors re- 

 turned to cancel a long-standing obligation ; he 

 has watched their flight, and discovered their 

 landing-place; his keen eye glances quickly 

 over his trusty gun, and ere a moment elapses 

 death is among them. 



The autumnal flight lasts from the middle of 

 August to the middle of November ; the vernal 

 flight from the middle of April to the middle of 

 May. 



Wilson says that, " except in calm weather, 

 the flocks of American wild geese rarely sleep 

 on the water, generally preferring to roost all 

 night in the marshes. When the shallow bays 

 are frozen, they seek the mouths of inlets near 

 the sea, occasionally visiting the air or breath- 

 ing-holes in the ice ; but these bays are seldom 

 so completely frozen as to prevent their feeding 

 on the bars at the entrance." 



Wounded geese have frequently been so far 

 domesticated as to pair readily with our tame 

 geese ; but their progeny are mules, and will not 

 breed. On the approach of spring, however, 

 they discover symptoms of uneasiness, frequent- 

 ly looking up in the air and attempting to go 

 off. Some, whose wings have been clipped, 

 have traveled on foot in a northerly direction, 

 and have been found at a distance of several 

 miles from home. They hail every flock that 

 passes overhead, and the salute is sure to be re- 

 turned by the voyagers, who are only prevented 

 from alighting by the presence and habitations 

 of man. The gunners sometimes take one or 

 two of these domesticated geese with them to 

 those places over which the wild ones are accus- 

 tomed to fly ; concealing themselves, they wait 

 for a flight, which is no sooner observed by the 

 decoy geese, than they begin calling aloud until 

 the flock approaches so near that the gunners 

 are enabled to make great havoc among them 

 with musket shot. 



We once possessed a wild gander that had 

 been slightly wounded in the wing, which mated 

 with a tame gray goose, and we bred from them 

 for more than ten years, but the produce were 

 not fruitful, although they laid eggs. They nev- 

 er showed any disposition to pair or mate with 

 either the wild or domestic goose. They seemed 

 to consider themselves ezclusives, and kept by 



